It should be known that at the beginning, as we have
mentioned before,687
the dynasty is remote from royal aspirations. It needs group feeling
through which its power and domination can materialize, and the desert
attitude is characteristic of group feeling.

A dynasty based upon religion is remote from royal
aspirations. In one based exclusively upon superior (political) power,
the desert attitude, through which superiority is achieved, likewise is
remote from royal aspirations and ways.

Now, if a dynasty at the beginning of its rule is a
Bedouin one, the ruler possesses austerity and the desert attitude. He
is close to the people and easily accessible. Then, when his power is
firmly established, he comes to claim all the glory for himself. He
needs to keep away from the people and to remain aloof with his friends,
in order to be able to talk with them about his special (private)
affairs, since his following has by then become large. Therefore, he
seeks to keep away from the common people as much as possible. He
employs someone at his door to admit (only) those of his friends and of
the people of the dynasty whom he cannot avoid, and to prevent people
(in general) from having access to him. (That person) is stationed at
the (ruler's) door to exercise his function.

Then, when royal authority flourishes and royal ways and
aspirations make their appearance, the ruler adopts royal character
qualities. They are strange, peculiar qualities. They must be carefully
handled in the proper way by those who are in contact with them. Persons
in contact with (rulers) often do not know about these qualities and may
do something that (rulers) do not like. He may become displeased with
them and get into the mood of. punishing them. Thus, knowledge of
manners to be used in intercourse with (rulers) became the sole property
of their special friends. (The rulers) kept all except their intimates
from meeting them at all times, so as to protect themselves against
noticing anything that might displease them and in order to protect the
people against exposing themselves to punishment. Thus, (rulers)
introduced another entrance restriction even more selective than the
first. (The first) concerns special friends of the ruler and prevents
everyone else's admission. The second restric­tion concerns the meetings
with those friends (of the rulers), and prevents admission of everyone
else from among the common people.

The first entrance restriction is in existence at the
be­ginning of a dynasty, as we have said. It originated in the days of
Mu'awiyah and 'Abd-al-Malik and the Umayyad caliphs. The person in
charge of entrance restrictions was called by them "doorkeeper" (hajib),a word properly derived from the same root (as the word "entrance
restriction").

Then, the 'Abbasid dynasty made its appearance. Its
famous luxury and power came into being, and the royal qualities reached
their proper perfection in it. This called for the second entrance
restriction. The name of "door­keeper" (hajib)was
restricted to it. The court of the caliphs contained two buildings to
house their retinue, one for the special group and another for the
common people. This is stated in 'Abbasid history.

In the later dynasties, a third entrance restriction came
into being. It was even more selective than the two previous ones. This
occurred at the period when the attempt was made to seclude the ruler.
It resulted from the fact that the first step taken by the men of the
dynasty and intimates of the ruler who set up the young princes and
attempted to gain control over them, was to keep the inner circle and
the special friends of (the young ruler's) father away from him. The
person who attempted to gain control over the young ruler suggested to
him that it would diminish respect for him and would destroy the rules
of etiquette if these men were to be in contact with him. His purpose
was to keep the young ruler from meeting anybody else and see to it that
he would become so used to him that he would not want to replace him
with anybody else until he securely dominated him. An entrance
restriction such as (the third) was obviously required under these
circumstances. As a rule, it comes into existence only in the later
(years) of a dynasty, as we have mentioned before in connection with the
seclusion of the ruler.688
It indicates the senility and decline of the dynasty. It is one of the
things that the members of dynasties are afraid of. Those who support
the dynasty will naturally at­tempt such a thing when the dynasty
reaches senility and later-born members of the ruling family lose
control. Human beings love very much to gain control over royal
authority, 689especially when the soil is prepared and all the
requirements and symptoms are there.